Artist: Arsis
Label: Willowtip
Release Date: 10/25/05
Rating: 5 Skulls
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Title: A Diamond for Disease Artist: Arsis Label: Willowtip Release Date: 10/25/05
Rating: 5 Skulls |
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Reviewed by Crimhead (9/7/06):
Ballet and metal are inexorably linked. Who doesn't remember lacing up their ballet shoes for their first metal show, or the first time they saw Kerry King pull off the pas de chat solo? Me neither. I had to Google "ballet" for reference and I still have no idea what pas de chat is. Nonetheless, NYC's Ballet Deviare presumably do know ballet and enlisted the services of Arsis' James Malone for his service in composing a song for their use. If this all seems ridiculous to you, you are not alone. Nevertheless...Virginia's Arsis has filled the Carcass void within me with the release of a three-track EP entitled A Diamond for Disease. The follow-up to 2004's A Celebration of Guilt, Arsis will no doubt continue to garner critical acclaim from the metal world and further propel a solid Willowtip roster.
The opening track of the album is a 13-minute beast of a title track that basically serves a showcase for all that Arsis offer. In terms of production values, I absolutely love the direction these guys have chosen. The mix is crisp, but not synthetic or overproduced. The masterful guitar work is mixed beautifully, neither buried nor suffocating the final product. The vocals, though acidic, actually sound subtle given the sheer density of the sonic backdrop. The drumming is solid - the band rarely wanders into the territory of dazzling time-changes and polyrhythmic muck that typifies so much modern metal. I actually find this approach refreshing, and truth be told, I think many bands sacrifice songwriting for virtuosity. Arsis simply does not fit this bill. These guys are songwriters in the purest sense.
The bass playing on this album is so technically proficient that a separate paragraph was warranted. The word on the street is that this guy doesn't even fret the notes. He simply turns the tuning keys to the appropriate notes while plucking open strings. Incidentally, all of the bass tracks were left out of the final mix.
Predictably, Arsis chose to cover an old Alice Cooper song for the second track. "Roses on White Lace," no less. Naturally, the song is played with unflinching conviction. It strikes the delicate balance between paying homage to the original songwriter and stamping the track with their own nuances. I want to criticize the inclusion of this track on the EP so badly, but I can't. These bastards pull it off far too well.
The album concludes with another original that clocks in at a paltry three minutes. Of course, there are no less than 14,598 notes crammed into the track, so it all balances out. I don't mean to imply that there is wankery going on here. There isn't. Arsis do not waste notes. The songs are crafted masterfully and thoughtfully.
Bottom line: if you are a fan of Carcass-inspired guitar harmonies, grandiose song structure, and technicality that is used for good instead of Yngwie, you will love this record. Arsis have delivered.
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